Friday, March 07, 2014

Eye to the Infinite–The Ideal State

This ideal state is that of Man in the Garden of Eden. The reality, however, is seldom paradisal bliss. All too often, man will find himself in a state of ego, a condi­tion of “mind after sin”, the sword in full operation, a far cry from the desired mind-unity. If we are to advance spiritually, we need to be able to access our inner mind, even our Neshomoh, at will, even in such a state. The Torah was not given to Angels! If we are to harness our poten­tial, com­bine con­scious focus with the unconscious’ perception even while the ‘sword’ is in effect, then we need to find a method to cir­cum­vent the sword or dis­sipate its affect, to cause the entire mind to ‘agree’ to focus on one thing and thus 'hear' our Neshomoh speaking.

An im­portant, often overlooked, method is the use of emo­tion. Emotion is a key to the inner mind and a door to the inner chambers of the soul.[1] It is the lan­guage of the sub­con­scious and so elicits its immediate re­sponse. Aroused emotions, whateverthey may be, are a nick in the CCF, the subcon­scious’ armour. Every emo­tion, mood or feeling, be it joy, bitterness, regret, longing, jeal­ousy or ex­cite­ment, is a new gate to the mind, revealing an­other facet of the soul.

Whatever the mood, allow yourself to ex­perience it in a G-dly context. You’re feeling joy? Direct that joy to G-d. Bitterness? Express that bitterness to G-d. Better still, think of the ultimate source of that bitterness, G-d’s Presence in exile. Feel the Shechinoh's bitterness as She longs for the removal of all evil from the world and the Revelation and Redemption of G-d’s Glory. Experience the emotion fully to the point where it carries and moves you until your soul, your very essence, starts to speak, to sing to G-d.